The prior art commonly employs two foot pedals which are individually connected to devices controlled by the foot pedals, such as one foot pedal being available for a forward mode and the other foot pedal being available for a reverse mode. Also, the prior art is aware of forward and reverse mechanisms which employ only a single foot pedal, and wherein that single foot pedal is suitably connected to mechanisms such that the foot pedal can be depressed by the operator's toe for a forward mode of operation and which can be depressed by the operator's heel for a reverse mode of operation. In that instance, the single foot pedal pivots in two directions for operating the device connected thereto, with the one direction being a first or forward mode of operation and with other direction of pivot for the foot pedal being a reverse mode of operation for the device connected with the foot pedal. Still further, the prior art is aware of arrangements wherein a foot pedal is connected to a device, such as a hydrostatic drive mechanism and including a shiftable member or lever on a hydraulic propulsion drive pump for establishing the forward and reverse modes of drive.
The present invention provides a forward and reverse mechanism having a single direction foot pedal which requires that the operator only depress the pedal for either the forward or reverse mode, and a shift lever is arranged with the mechanism so that the operator needs to only manipulate a hand type of shift lever and the foot pedal which is depressed in only one direction for all modes of operation. As such, the present invention simplifies the mechanism heretofore known, and it provides a type of mechanism which the operator is more familiar with and which therefore requires only more familiar or common maneuvering for establishing the different modes of operation achievable with the mechanism of this invention.
Accordingly, the present invention is an improvement upon the foot control type of mechanisms heretofore known and utilized for the purpose of forward and reverse drives or the like, such as those employed in hydrostatic drive systems for tractors and other vehicles. Still further, the present invention provides a forward and reverse mechanism which the operator can easily and positively set in the desired mode of operation, and in which the operator can easily see which mode the mechanism is set in, prior to actually operating the mechanism for forward or reverse movement of the tractor or like vehicle. Accordingly, the present invention provides a forward and reverse type of mechanism which only requires that the operator perform customary and trained and habitual types of maneuvers, such as placing a shift lever in a forward or reverse mode and such as depressing a single pedal in one direction for movement of the tractor or vehicle in either direction.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings.